THE SPIRITUAL BODY
Photographs by Juan Manuel Abell án
Dance is above all a sacred movement, and the “ sacred language of the soul ", according to Martha GRAHAM. And Pina BAUSCH said: " It is curious how beautiful things have a relationship with movement."
Dance is concomitant with the appearance of man on earth. It has taken various forms: collective prayers, shamanic dances, dances in the temples of ancient Greece, or those of the whirling dervishes in Turkey, meditations in harmony with the universal movement of the planets.
I've been photographing dance for a long time. I spent years observing dancers on stage, witnessing their transformation into spirit bodies as they were possessed by strange life forces, arms raised to the sky as they circled the stage like praying shamans.
I wanted to immortalize the intangible nature of their movements. To my eyes, their bodies became spirits, flames of fire, waterfalls or gusts of wind, all the elements of nature merging together as they danced before my eyes, amazed by these rituals charged with passion and mystery.
Flamenco has always been a part of my life. Originally from southern Spain, this art form reminds me of my childhood, the colorful Ferias that took place in Andalusia in spring and summer, evoking sun-drenched flower gardens and summer breezes.
This photographic project is a modest tribute to my story and my passion for dance.
I want to show that dance, beyond plastic aesthetics and the beauty of the body, is in essence a spiritual song of the soul, an intimate communion with the universe and its mystery. Dance is a spiritual celebration of life.
